Joe Cannady is a baseball player, through and through. He’s one of those who has played the game since T-ball. He’s also the kind of player that will be missed when he’s gone.

“You got a kid who’s going to be a valedictorian. You have a kid who knows and understands the game of baseball, plus he’s a good a player,”?Augusta coach Doug Jefferson said of Cannady.

His senior season isn’t quite done yet, but he’s already got next year mapped out. Cannady signed a letter of intent to play baseball for Newman University next season.

“I spent all my high school career trying to get to play baseball in college. It should be fun,”?Cannady said.

Cannady has emerged as a valuable player for the Orioles. He began to truly make his mark after he hit a walk-off RBI base hit to win the first round of Regionals last year. As of now, he’s leading the team in batting average this season and is among the team leaders in ERA.

Cannady also considered a school in Kansas City, but said he liked that Newman was closer and that the university was giving him some academic scholarships, as well.

He first started talking with coaches from Newman during the summer in between his junior and senior years and talked to them throughout the winter.

Cannady is the third Oriole from this senior group to commit to a college. Logan Hiser (Allen County) and Dalton Wheat (Butler) also will play baseball at the next level. They’ve had a good tenure together, but they’ve still got goals to accomplish this season.

“It’s been a lot of fun. Hopefully we can go to State this year and finish it off.”

“Can’t say enough about him and the other seniors on our team. They’ve just done a great job of leading,” Jefferson said.